It was like her life was a film strip that had been run through a blender and then glued back together in a different order. She could just remember small clips of what must have once been her memory. Looking down at blood running through her fingers. Jane turning around and smiling at her in New Mexico. A sterile white room with an oxygen mask over her face and pain like she'd never imagined she'd feel in her stomach. Loki hovering over her, lips close to hers, whispering hesitant and desperate apologies. Flying through the air in Thor's strong and reassuring embrace. Hearing the Hulk roar. It was such a mess. She didn't remember any of it with any clarity. Except for Jane. She missed her so much it kind of hurt a little.

It was a struggle to open her eyes. Her lids were heavy and she could tell she was on some serious drugs. She didn't feel this loopy even on a good day. It felt like she was in a hospital room, but it seemed nicer. Her blankets were warm and soft, not thin and cheap. Her body ached to the core quite literally. Flashes of becoming a kebab temporarily ran through her head, as she gingerly pulled down the blanket covering her and pulled up the very nice nightgown she was in. She wasn't undead. There was no wound, only a wicked looking black and blue bruise spanning her entire stomach. She touched it carefully. Pain radiated with the contact.

"That will still hurt like a bitch if you touch it," she heard from the corner, a little too late. She looked over to see Director Fury seated in a chair in the corner of her room. It took some time to adjust to the light when she opened her eyes fully, and she tried to sit up.

"Where am I?" she asked, her throat dry. Her boss stood up, grabbed a glass, and filled it with water, bringing it to her.

"Stark Tower," he said. "What's left of it. Tony had you set up here to recover since most of the local hospitals are still flooded with injured civilians." Darcy raised her eyebrows and stuck out her bottom lip appreciatively.

"Nice," she said, taking the water. She wanted to rejoice as the cool relief slid down her throat. "You want to start from the top? Well, where I left off, anyway? Mainly, why the fairly prominent opening in my stomach isn't there anymore?"

"The Council launched a nuclear missile at Manhattan during the attack." Darcy's mouth dropped open as she attempted to lift her head off her pillow.

"W-T-F?"

"They thought we were a lost cause and wanted to end the invasion. Tony managed to fly it up into the alien army base when Loki reopened the portal."

"I'll just wait for you to explain that 'reopened' part."

"When Loki... tried to kill Erik and you... stopped him... Loki did some kind of turn about, so to speak." Nick always paused a lot when he was giving her a talk. "He took his scepter and removed the Cube, closing the portal. He was able to use the Tesseract's power to heal you somehow. I guess it isn't his specialty, you still have severe trauma to your stomach, but you didn't bleed to death and our top doctors say you will recover. With Thor, they managed to reopen the portal in order to direct the nuclear missile. Stark was nearly killed taking it up there; but he survived. Loki closed the portal again. The Chitauri took it as a betrayal of their agreement. Loki helped us kill the rest." It took a good five minutes of complete silence for Darcy to soak that in. She might have fallen asleep for some for a few of those minutes. So many drugs.

"Where is everyone?" she asked.

"Agent Romanov and Barton are back at the SHIELD facility. Stark, Rogers, and Banner are here in the tower, also. Rogers isn't very comfortable with us given the actions of the Council. Stark is letting him stay here." That was something she was she didn't expect. Those two nearly hated each other. Playboys and Golden Boys tended not to play nice.

"And the last two you haven't mentioned?" Darcy asked.

"Thor and Loki have returned the Cube to Asgard. Thor said he wished return to see how you were when you woke once they had..."

"Dealt with Loki," Darcy finished. Deal with Loki. How would they do that? He had almost destroyed their world and helped save it all in one day. He had almost killed her and saved her life within moments. Fury stood, stoic as always. It was kind of comforting knowing some things were still the same.

"I know we haven't really been able to discuss your time in captivity; but it seems that the impending war is over, for the time being. I am having a hard time understanding why he would throw over his plan to save your life." Darcy was silent a moment. She was actually silent for a lot of moments. He continued to press. "Were you two...?" He trailed off, not able to finish the question while looking at her. She quirked an amused eyebrow at him.

"Doin' the hippity dippity?" she finished. Nick rolled his one visible eye, some of the tension on his shoulders alleviated. It appeared she hadn't completely lost her touch.

"I was going to go with 'intimate,' but your vocabulary once again proves more direct." She laughed weakly.

"No, we weren't 'intimate,'" she said somewhat seriously. "When we escaped the ship, and my mind was back he... suggested it. I figured it was a play so that he could mess with you guys... namely Thor."

"A likely scenario if I hadn't seen what had followed. Thor told me Loki taunted him about you when he was locked in the cell." Darcy paused. He had planned it back that far, had he? Jerk. "Anything else?" he asked.

"I don't know, Director, he said a lot of things to me. You can never tell if he is being sincere or just a bastard. He said a lot of things that I want to believe, and a lot of things I don't. One minute he said he preferred the world with me in it, the next he would say he could kill me as soon as look at me. The guy has issues."

"But when it came down to it, he gave up his army to save you."

"This is so weird," Darcy had to say out loud. "Sorry, I don't know what to think of all this." They were silent for several minutes yet again, both of them trying to process the situation. Fury could tell the girl needed time to think. "I don't think he was giving it up for me, despite how morbidly romantic that would be," she finally said. "I think... I think he was just tired of the path he was on. It was going nowhere, and he knew it. If anything, I might have had a small part in helping him realize it, hopefully. Maybe. And... maybe he was grateful. While I was all 'Enemy-Spy-Darcy,' it sometimes felt like we were... friends. Sometimes. He was nice once you got used to the him. We even joked together a little. I was mentally obligated to obey his every command, of course, but he wasn't entirely unpleasant to me. It all kind of went topside when I got my brain back. I didn't understand why he didn't magic my brain again at first. The best I can come up with was that he liked the... idea of being friends. Not to feel sorry for the bad guy, but I think I'm pretty much the only friend he has besides Thor, and don't get me started on those two. But we could never be actual friends while he was controlling me, really. But anyway, trying to get in Loki's head is a dangerous, dangerous thing to do." Fury stood up, folding his arms behind his back, looking out the window to her room.

"I know this can't be easy for you, Lewis. None of us expected it to end this way. Before Thor left, though, he proposed something to me."

"What?" Darcy asked, trying to sit up. Nick came over, raising the hospital bed instead. "Well, that's easier," she said, relaxing and letting him do the work for her.

"Thor has always wanted to reason with Loki. He's his brother, for all intents and purposes, and he loves him. The fact that Loki helped us in the end the war, regardless of his reasoning, or that fact he started it in the first place, proved to Thor that there is some hope for him."

"You don't sound convinced," she said grimly.

"It doesn't matter, I'm afraid. Willingness to rehabilitate Loki was the price of Thor's help. I knew that going in. Not to mention, Loki is in great danger now." Darcy nodded.

"I'm guessing his alien army didn't take very kindly to him switching sides and giving the Tesseract to someone else," she commented. "What did Thor say?"

"He... requested if you might be willing to help him, with his brother." Darcy furrowed his brows came together.

"What kind of help? Target practice to keep him sharp? I think I've done all I can. Sorry." Fury couldn't hide the sad smirk from forming for a brief moment.

"Thor is certain Loki will be exiled from Asgard, as he was, if not worse. He was going to request from Odin to have him serve out his sentence here on Earth. Thor hoped that... you could continue whatever influence it is you have on Loki and that maybe some good will come of it." Darcy shook her head.

"I don't think Loki would go along with any of this; and trust me, no matter what it looks like, I don't have any influence over Loki."

"Loki has been nothing but compliant for the past three days," Fury said. "He swore he would abandon all devices of war upon Earth. He signed an agreement which Thor said would be sealed by Odin, promising aid from Asgard in the event it is not upheld. This also for the exchange of any aid we can offer in keeping Loki away from the Chitauri. When they rebuild and go after Loki, we doubt they will look here. Not at first. Thor and Loki both will need someone to help them adjust if they are going to be here for a while. We could think of no one better than you." She gave him a quizzical look.

"Director Fury, he just spent the last few weeks messing with my head. I doubt I'm the best person to do that. You've said it before: I belong behind a computer, not in front of a person." A sad smile appeared on his face.

"You have the most experience with both of them. Not to mention, Thor requested you specifically. I'm afraid he does not trust SHIELD at the moment. I cannot say that I blame him."

"I guess we'll have to see how things go with Odin," she said. "This might not even happen. I'm channelling Scarlet O'Hara here. l'll think about it later. Anyway. I need to get home. I haven't been at my apartment for weeks for longer than thirty minutes. I think I'm starting to miss the crummy place." Fury stiffened.

"About that," Fury said. "Unfortunately... your apartment was among the buildings destroyed in the combat." Darcy's face fell.

"So I'm a homeless, strung out kebab," she said. At least she wasn't crying. "Everything I owned was in that apartment. My... iPod... was in that apartment."

"Stark said you'd be welcome here while you find something more permanent," Stark replied. "And I suppose, for your assistance with saving the world, I can see fit to issue you a replacement for your iPod."

"Video? I don't want a Shuffle."

"Whatever one, Lewis."


"I do not know why Fate has chosen to torment me with such reckless, foolish sons," the All-Father's booming voice echoed in the private hall he chose to hold the reunion of the royal family for the first time in a almost two years. Normally, the span of time were but blinks of an eye to the immortals. The rift that had formed among the four of them, however, seem to stretch it out a bit more. Frigga held silently to Odin's side, her grief for Loki still apparent on her face. The trickster had managed to remain aloof when he saw Odin for the first time. The sight of his mother's tears, however, had undone him from the inside out. He could not bring himself to deny her as his mother as he had Odin for the past year. "You are princes of Asgard," Odin continued, "and yet you both have done what you could to tear apart these peaceful realms in these past years."

Thor stood at the side of his brother as they both bowed their heads. Thor did not take offense to Odin grouping him together with Loki. He had, after all, been equally as reckless once; and he felt it better that his younger brother not feel isolated in the rather harsh scolding that was coming. If only it were as easy as a few stern words from their father. No. Not when you were of Asgard, and certainly not when your father was the All-Father. Loki was only just teetering back from the edges of madness. Thor did not want him to feel alone.

"You do not need to involve Thor in this. He has already been punished for his crimes," Loki answered calmly but with his head still bowed. "It is I that am due justice and it is I who am here to pay the price." Odin stared at Loki for a good long moment as both his sons rose to their feet. The sight both infuriated him and broke his heart.

"Very well," Odin said, his tone more even. "Then let us begin. As always, you have been able to avoid Heimdall's gaze. So the extent of your crimes will probably never be known. The bulk involves the deaths of hundreds of mortals by your own hand. You enslaved the minds of several, robbing them of their own will, and forcing them to assist your work. And finally, you entered into a contract with a hostile enemy force and unleashed them upon an nearly defenseless realm, promising the Tesseract to them in return, a rightful power of Asgard. But, at the same time, you closed the portal, assisted your brother in protecting the civilian population from a corrupt mortal counter attack, as well as reviving a mortal whom you nearly killed." Odin stepped closer to his younger son, watching him closely.

"I do not deny that I have done you wrong by lying to you, Loki. But the wrongs you have suffered pale in comparison to those you have committed. The evil deeds you have done would normally call for eternal imprisonment or execution." Loki could hear his mother's sharp intake of breath at his words. He would remain stoic for her. "However, your actions since that battle on Earth lead me to be willing to believe you wish to repent. Bear in mind, I'll have your lips sewn shut again before I hear another lie from them. Tell me, Loki Odinson, what are your intentions?"

Loki sighed heavily, a strange weight seemed to be simultaneously lifting and weighing on his shoulders at the address Odin had given him. He still called him son: after all that had happened and all he had done.

"I've had enough intentions for a while," Loki replied. "I wish to repair what I have damaged and set right what I have wronged. After that, I wish to find a path that is mine, although that won't be for a while yet, assuming you do not demand my execution."

"And the reason for this sudden change of heart?" Odin asked. Loki raised his eyes to his father's. His father's, he repeated mentally. He did not see the hardness he expected or the hatred that he himself had felt since he had fallen to nothingness. He remembered how he felt, dangling there off the bridge. This man's approval was the only thing he had wanted in that moment. And it had been denied him. Here, he found himself wanting it again. His chances seemed slightly improved.

"I found...value...in a place I did not expect it," Loki replied. "It made things I thought important...less so."

"Am I to understand this 'value' of which you speak is the child you almost killed?" Loki winced, but knew better than to lie. Odin sounded serious about having lips sewn shut... again.

"It began with her, yes," he said, not bothering to correct him calling her a child. "I found that if mortal a fraction of my age was able to speak wisdom over me, however incoherent at times, I was curious as to where else I had been wrong." Odin looked thoughtful, turning from him, and walking back towards his wife. Frigga remained ever silent, as always, a balm to the wounds the men in her life tore into each other.

"Your brother has suggested that it would be best that you serve out your sentence living among the mortals you once tried to enslave: that your repentance should be earned in their service. I am inclined to agree with him, if you are so willing to cooperate. This will be contingent upon the mortals' agreement to allow you among them, once again. Your powers do not originate from Asgard and I am unable to remove them from you as any source of security. Should they reject you, you will be banished to the realm of Jotunheim from whence you were found. The family from which you have made every effort to turn away will finally give you the isolation you have sought. Do you understand the judgement I passed?" Loki nodded.

"I do."

"Then return to Midgard. When you show yourself to be worthy of your title, you may return home." Odin looked to Frigga, taking his leave of her. With a solemn look, he made to leave the room. He paused as he passed his younger son, placing a firm, aged hand on his shoulder. He spoke no more words as he left.

Frigga wasted no more in running to the two of them, throwing her arms around Loki.

"My son," she cried into his shoulder, tears falling freely. "No matter how your father sounds, we all longed for your return." Try as he might, Loki could not remain cold to his mother's tears as one slipped from his eye. He hesitantly allowed his long arms to wrap around her much smaller frame to comfort her. It seemed strange to embrace anyone after so long with only his emptiness and hate to keep him company.

"Forgive me, mother," he said quietly, regret breaking through the resolve of his words. "It was never my desire to cause you grief." And it had not been, he could honestly admit. His mother had loved him equally to Thor if not even showing him favor occasionally as her youngest. For that he would treasure her always. His own self-loathing only deepened knowing how much pain he had caused her in his reckless ambition. The elegant queen pulled away, running a hand down the side of his face and through his hair which was longer than she remembered. He closed his eyes briefly, remembering Darcy's hand following that exact same motion minutes before she threw herself in front of his scepter. He squeezed his eyes together tightly at the uncomfortable memory. "You will return to us, Loki. I have no doubt of it."

"Thank you mother. I believe Thor and I should waste no time, however. I am eager to know what fate the humans have in store for me." He looked to Thor. "Come, brother."

"I will meet you in the vault," Thor said. "I wish to say goodbye to mother." Loki nodded silently, making his exit.

"Oh, Thor," Frigga said. "I know it is useless; but I do so wish we could go back to the way things were. My poor boy. I feel as if he will never be the same again."

"Perhaps it is for the better, mother," Thor said, wrapping a strong arm around her. "It was for me."

"I argued with your father about your banishment as well," she admitted. "But it was what you needed. I can only hope Loki finds what he needs as you did." Thor smirked. Frigga did not miss it. "What in the Nine Realms could you find amusing?"

"It was Jane that showed me what it was to care for others above myself, mother," Thor said. "If I am not mistaken, I believe Loki may have found a match as well." Frigga looked at him bewildered.

"Loki?" she questioned. "Taken with a mortal? Who?"

"I could be wrong of course. Loki is far more complex a being than I. But I saw him when he thought Darcy died on that roof. Whatever feeling he has toward her, it is not a mild one." Frigga shook her head, defeated.

"The girl that almost died at his hand?"

"The very same," Thor replied. Frigga's finely manicured brows came together.

"Of course if anyone were to become infatuated with a woman from the very race he vowed to hate and dominate, it would be your brother. No one else could be so inconsistent. What is it about this realm that has both of my sons in such rapture?"

"Perhaps it is in the water?"